5 Minute Ceiling Fan upgrade | Pretty Handy Girl

5 Minute Ceiling Fan Update | Pretty Handy Girl

When I was updating my son’s bedroom, I gave the ceiling fan a 5 minute update! You can easily change the look of a ceiling fan by quickly swapped out the light shades. I removed the scalloped edged glass shades and replaced them with square ones for a more “gender neutral” look.

5 Minute Ceiling Fan upgrade | Pretty Handy Girl

New glass shades cost anywhere from $3 – $10 each at Lowe’s or other home improvement stores. The shade size is pretty much universal, but make sure you are buying the smaller shades versus larger ones that are sold for pendant lights. To be sure, bring one of the old shades with you or measure the diameter of the mouth on the existing shades.

Here’s the quick 5 minute how to swap out your ceiling fan light shades: Read more

Painted Lampshade & a Quick Guest Room Makeover | Pretty Handy Girl

Painted Lampshade & a Quick Guest Room Makeover | Pretty Handy Girl

My mom was coming to visit his month. Since she’s a repeat guest, I wanted to give the guest room a little mini makeover for her. With the addition of some new pillows, curtains and a painted lampshade I gave it a new look in an afternoon.

Here’s the before:

GuestBed

And the after: Read more

unlit_song_lyric_lamp

Are y’all sick of all my ugly construction type tutorials yet? After all the framing and drywall dust I’ve been breathing, I just wanted to put down my hammer and flex my creativity a little. The perfect project presented itself in the form of these two lamps I picked up at the Habitat ReStore for $15.

habitat_lamps

They had a white matte finish, perfect for writing on. The few scuffs were buffed off with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. (Anyone else addicted to those miracle sponges?)

clean_lamp_mr_clean_magic_eraser

Then I got down to the long and tedious work {snort laughing.} Okay, not really work, this is almost the easiest tutorial EVER!) Read more

I am amazed that we’ve had great weather for the entire two weeks of the DIY Talent Parade! Are you enjoying the parade so far?! Well, get ready to have your socks knocked off today. Our talented guest is an amazing multi-tasking mother of four. She cooks, she sews, she crafts and she makes everything she touches beautiful! Amy is beautiful inside and out which makes it no surprise that she has the talent to turn ordinary objects into gorgeous creations. Like this t-shirt turned bolero.

Wait, I think I see her coming this way…ummm…is she dancing? Why yes, she is! My goodness is there anything this girl can’t do?! Turn your heads this way and welcome the very lovely and very talented Amy from Positively Splendid. Read more

Thanks to my Facebook fan, Heather H., for the ultimate compliment on this lantern. She asked if I got it at Pier 1! Nope Heather, I got it at the Habitat ReStore and it found its way into my hands in this condition:

After a Women Build meeting at the Habitat ReStore a month ago, I spied that dusty relic. An old discarded hanging light fixture. I grabbed it and promptly paid $5 for it. Then I got to chatting with the clerk at the ReStore and absentmindedly walked out without my lantern. By the time I remembered, the ReStore had already closed. It was sad… it was tragic… I didn’t know when I’d be reunited with my light fixture because the ReStore is about 25 minutes away from my home. But, there is a happy ending to my story, my mother-in-law (who gives a good name to all MILs out there) offered to swing by the ReStore the following day to pick up my lantern for me. Hugs to her for reuniting us. But, I had to laugh at the look of skepticism she gave me as she handed over the dusty light. She couldn’t see its true potential, but I could.

How about you? Would you have passed this light fixture by? Or would you have seen the potential?

Well, next time you see a light fixture like that, grab it and I’ll show you how to transform it.

Materials:

  • Old lantern style light fixture
  • Pliers
  • Wire cutters
  • Two screwdrivers (at least one needs to be flat head)
  • Damp rag
  • Sandpaper
  • Plastic drop cloth
  • Kilz spray primer
  • Rustoleum Lagoon spray paint
  • Rub n’ Buff Gold Color
  • Paper towels
Difficulty: Easy
Step 1. Disassemble the lantern by unscrewing all the parts.

Step 2. Use wire cutters to cut the wire to the light housings.

Step 3. Pull the light sockets, bulbs and lighting out of the lantern.

Step 4. Remove the finial from the bottom of the lighting and set it aside with the lantern. Discard or keep the lighting parts for some other project.

Step 5. If there is a chain attached to the lantern, insert the two screwdrivers into the link attaching it to the lantern. Rotate the two screwdrivers in opposite directions as shown to pry the chain link apart.

Step 6. Pry up the tabs on the lantern that are holding the glass in place. Remove the glass panels and set them aside.

These are the parts that I kept for the lantern:

Step 7. Wipe all the parts with the damp rag to remove any dust and debris. Then scuff the lantern parts with sandpaper and wipe off any remaining dust.

Step 8. Set the lantern and parts outside on the drop cloth.  Spray them with Kilz primer, flip the pieces over and spray again.

Step 9. When the primer has dried, inspect the lantern for any paint drips that need to be sanded smooth.

Step 10. Spray paint the lantern and parts with Rustoleum Lagoon. Flip everything after the first coat is dry and spray a second coat of paint.

Step 11. After the lantern has dried thoroughly, reassemble the lantern.

Screw the finial onto the inside of the lantern where the lighting used to attach.

Step 11. Wipe a small amount of rub n’ buff on a dry paper towel. Rub it on the cross bars of the lantern.

Step 12. Clean the lantern glass with windex and a clean rag. Then insert the glass panels back into the lantern.

Admire your new aqua beauty!

The hardest part of this project was trying to decide where to display my lantern. I could see it in every room of our home!

But, ultimately I gave it a place of prominence on our mantle. And included an old picture inside it.

Have you seen these old light fixtures? Could you ever guess that they could be turned into beautiful decorating gems?
Have a great weekend y’all. I hope you make a trip to your local Habitat ReStore and search for your own lantern.

I hope you’ll join Heather and some other friends on Facebook so you can see what I’m up to next!

Sharing with Tater Tots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party